Happenstance
by LegalWrights
Summary: Gabriel Reyes, a contractor cold and cut off from the world, finds himself in a rather awkward position taking care of kids who need him. And as much as it pains him, he may actually need them just as much.


Gabe sighed and muttered under his breath. Mornings, especially the mornings after long nights, were the worst part of his existence. And that said quite a bit. He rolled over and forced himself out of bed. His room wasn't exactly modest, but it wasn't grandiose. The room that doubled as an office was a good few feet, a nice cube of personal space for the third generation immigrant as he tripped over his stool, cussing loudly and rubbing his leg. He glared at the stool, as if hoping it could feel shame for what it had done to him, and then he stood, looking over the drafting table in front of him.

The half finished sketch was for a cathedral his company had been contracted for, and Gabe knew he'd have to finish it within the next few weeks. Given materials and updates from these picky clients though? He'd have to throw the entire fucking thing out and start over.

"One of these days I'm gonna burn one of these buildings, just to prove a god damn point..." He muttered quietly, kicking the stool back under the desk as he went about his day. He threw on some old jeans, a gray hoodie, and stumbled himself in front of the mirror, staring at a man he barely recognized. He, as usual, glared right back at him. He ran a hand through his unruly beard, considering a shave but deciding against it. It wasn't worth the time, it wasn't worth the effort. He wasn't the face of all that business deal bullshit. He was just a guy with a pencil, and he'd prefer to keep it that way.

He yawned, brushed his teeth, and put a comb through what hair he had before making his way downstairs to the kitchen. A quick cup of coffee later and the half-dead man was practically functional. Now he'd just have to take a quick drive downtown and see if there were any new jobs to take up; maybe some poor intern to drop this cathedral job onto. He wouldn't know what was going on, it'd save Reyes a few sleepless nights to say the least.

The drive itself was uneventful, Gabe dragged himself behind the wheel of his truck, sat in traffic for god knows how long while hippies danced in the streets, protesting whatever was cool that week, and he pulled into Morrison-Reyes Contracting about 20 minutes later than he should have. Just like always. He parked in his reserved space, strolled inside casually, and tried to clock in without anyone seeing him. But...nothing escapes his sight.

"Gabe."

Reyes sighed and muttered something under his breath. "Yeah, hey, Jack. What's up?" He asked, punching his card and quickly trying to edit the time punch. "Just watching the entrance for fun?"

"No; I'm waiting for you to actually show up to work." The co-owner of the company stood with his arms folded in a suit and tie. Morrison had always been a natural leader, clean shaven and charismatic. That was why Reyes left all the front end stuff to him. Unfortunately that meant him having the CEO position and...technically being Gabe's boss. "Gabe, you're starting to worry me just a bit." He had some empathy to his voice, like he wanted to understand the position Reyes found himself in, but Gabe shrugged it off.

"Just a bit? I'll try harder then." He scoffed, putting his hands in the pocket of his hoodie and walking with his long time friend. "You know I'll show up and put in my time, Jack. You don't have to watch out for me."

Jack nodded his head. "Yeah, I do. The underlings kind of don't. So...try and make an effort to keep up appearances, okay? I really can't afford them adopting your..." He paused for a moment and Reyes raised an eyebrow. "...interesting work ethic."

Gabe smirked and hauled open the door to Jack's office. "Yeah, well, most of them don't also have a home office that they do shit off the clock in. If they step out of line, I'll hammer it into their skulls that they can't afford to pull the shit I pull."

Jack chuckled and sat down behind his desk, leaning forward and folding his hands. "And that attitude is the main reason why I wanted to talk to you today."

Reyes raised and eyebrow and pulled a chair around backward, leaning forward onto the back of the chair as he sat down. "...Go on."

"Don't get me wrong, I like that attitude. It's really useful around here. Good cop; bad cop. You know how it is." Jack looked up at Gabriel's narrowing gaze and chuckled. "...You know what Ana does for a living, right? I've told you?"

Gabe thought for a moment. "She...runs some orphanage or something, right? And that massive program we donated to?"

Jack nodded. "Biggest foster care organization the world's ever seen. Trying to fix the broken bonds of our country and others, all that peachy shit that I know you just love." He pinched Gabe on the cheek at that, and Gabe quickly swatted him, not returning his laugh. "...And sometimes she gets some kids that are really just, well, troublesome."

Gabe smirked. "What, you want me to freak them out? Or give them my rousing speech?" He stretched and sat up proper. "If I can manage to fuck up every single opportunity I'm given and succeed, then so can you!"

The two had a short laugh before Jack broke back down to business. "...Sort of. Just one in particular that's being a bit too much of a handful. He's a bit of a loose cannon and he's becoming difficult to keep track of."

Gabe seemed to realize where he was going and cut him off abruptly. "Morrison, I don't know what kind of fuckin' bullshit you think you're gonna pull, but I'm not getting involved with a kid. I'm not gonna be a family to someone."

Jack held up his hands. "I know, I know, but I really need this favor from you, and you're the only person I know who's both financially and mentally capable." Reyes glared down at the ugly carpet that Jack's daughter had bought him for the place. "I'm just asking one favor, to save us all some sleep and maybe fix a kid's life. Be what you never had, Gabe."

Reyes rested his forehead on his fist. How the fuck was he actually considering this? What part of him felt like this might be even the slightest bit of a good idea? "...How many favors do I owe you these days?"

Jack sat back and counted on his fingers. "Are we counting the car rides? I'll say no and we'll call it even after this. Hell I'll even agree to owe you one. Does that sound fair?" Gabe only grunted in response, and after a moment of silence, Jack nodded. "...Alright, I'll talk with Ana a bit more about it and ring you when it comes up, sound good?"

Reyes nodded simply and stood up. "As long as it's only temporary..." He realized he'd forgotten what was probably a rather important question. "What's the kid's name anyway?"

Jack nodded in response to the terms. "Foster only, Gabe. Until things sort themselves out." He rooted through some papers on his desk and slid him a file. "Jesse. Get yourself well acquainted, Gabe. I owe you one."

Reyes picked it up and flipped through it, raising an eyebrow at the surprisingly list of misdemeanors the boy had racked up.

"Fuck right you do."


End file.
